Will County Gazette

Republican Congressional candidate Mike Fricilone is curious to see how far Democrats will actually to go to bring about true ethics reform in Springfield.

“It’s obvious with everything going on with (House Speaker Mike) Madigan and all the other indictments there needs to be massive reform," Fricilone told the Will County Gazette. “In the end, we have to see how much teeth there is in what they’re proposing.”  

With Madigan (D-Chicago) now embroiled in a still developing federal corruption probe involving utility giant ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme, some Democrat lawmakers are pushing an array of reform measures they tout as ways to change the culture in Springfield. Topping the list of proposals are measures that would ban legislators from becoming lobbyists, require greater financial disclosures, establish a censure process, make the legislative inspector general more independent, and institute term limits.

Running against Democrat Marie Newman in the 3rd Congressional District, Fricilone said he doesn’t expect to see all the controversy and pressure swirling around Madigan let up anytime soon.

“I know he’s survived a lot of things before, but from what I hear there are other big companies besides ComEd involved here,” he said. “Obviously, the feds are going to do their due diligence, but I feel certain something will come of this. When you get a company like ComEd to admit wrongdoing to the tune of paying a $200 million fine, there’s probably something there.”

In the end, Fricilone said he can only see one thing bringing about the kind of change in Springfield so many now insists they want to see.

“It will take voters starting to vote people out whenever they are suspected of wrongdoing in any way,” he said. “We can’t continue to look at people doing wrong and still send them back to Springfield.”